The idea of legacy is an
interesting one. In some ways it can be
a simple thing - something left in a will by someone who has died. But in others it speaks of a choice to live a
life that is so rich it doesn’t end with this one.
“The choices we make about the
lives we live determine the kinds of legacies we leave. “ Tavis Smily
You get the feeling that legacy should
be about much more than how much money and possessions we leave behind. A friend of mine who worked in London with the
rich set, used to wear a badge saying he who dies with the most toys wins. It kind of sums up the pointlessness of
acquiring stuff.
Shakespeare put it
differently, “No legacy is so rich as honesty”.
I like that, it makes you
think. But others have their own definition
“Carve your name on hearts, not
tombstones. A legacy is etched into the
hearts of others and the stories they share about you.” Shannon L Alder
Now, that feels like a better definition,
closer to what legacy should be about.
Makes it almost an inspirational thing rather than a post script to
life.
“Everyone must leave
something behind when he dies, my grandfather said. A child or a book or a
painting or a house or a wall built or a pair of shoes made. Or a garden
planted. Something your hand touched some way so your soul has somewhere to go
when you die, and when people look at that tree or that flower you planted,
you're there.
It doesn't matter what you do, he said, so long as you change something from the way it was before you touched it into something that's like you after you take your hands away. The difference between the man who just cuts lawns and a real gardener is in the touching, he said. The lawn-cutter might just as well not have been there at all; the gardener will be there a lifetime.” … Ray Bradbury
It doesn't matter what you do, he said, so long as you change something from the way it was before you touched it into something that's like you after you take your hands away. The difference between the man who just cuts lawns and a real gardener is in the touching, he said. The lawn-cutter might just as well not have been there at all; the gardener will be there a lifetime.” … Ray Bradbury
But maybe legacy is not so
complicated. I hate it when I have to
struggle to understand something. I like
simple clear explanations. Definitions
that just stay in my head and yet make me think. So I think my favourite quote on legacy will
have to be this one.
“If you would not be forgotten as
soon as you are dead, either write something worth reading or do something
worth writing.” from Benjamin Franklin
Perhaps that is a good point to stop, or in the
words of Forrest Gump, “and that’s all I am going to say about that!”
